{"id":90532,"date":"2014-11-30T23:49:11","date_gmt":"2014-11-30T13:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=90532"},"modified":"2020-11-20T18:04:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T08:04:58","slug":"gumnut-hosts-community-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/11\/30\/gumnut-hosts-community-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Gumnut Hosts Community Update"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0Lloyd Fairbairn (Kingaroy SHS) \u00a0with Emily Powell, Stanwell, and Cr Ros Heit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 30, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stanwell Corporation took its latest community update “on the road” last week allowing its guests to experience what’s been happening lately at The Gumnut Place in Murgon.<\/p>\n

Gumnut provides employment for workers with a disability.<\/p>\n

It recently unveiled a new $200,000 gas-fired heat-treatment kiln for its pallet business, built with the assistance of a $50,000 grant from the Tarong Community Partnership Fund.<\/p>\n

It has also just\u00a0renewed its laundry contract with Meandu mine operator Downer EDI for three years.<\/p>\n

“I want to thank Stanwell and Downer EDI for their fantastic support of Gumnut,” South Burnett CTC CEO Nina Temperton said.<\/p>\n

Nina also thanked Giles Plumbing, from Goomeri, for their generous donation back to Gumnut of the profits from plumbing the kiln and Wamuran Timber for their support of the project.<\/p>\n

\u00a0* * *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highlights from the Stanwell Community Update:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Stanwell CEO Richard Van Breda said the corporation was still dealing with a “very challenging” wholesale electricity supply market<\/p>\n

The gas-fired Swanbank E power station will go into “cold storage” at the end of this month.<\/p>\n

Stanwell needs to sell power at $40MW; last month it was selling at $23MW however there was “light at the end of the tunnel”.<\/p>\n

“We are starting to see gas coming on line; as soon as we see gas prices increasing it will be better for the electricity market,” Mr Van Breda said.<\/p>\n

“This won’t necessarily translate into higher retail prices because (the generators) make up just 20 per cent of the retail price.”<\/p>\n

Mr Van Breda said Unit 2 at Tarong Power Station would come back on line in the middle of 2015 which will mean there will once again be five units operating at Tarong \/ Tarong North.<\/p>\n

He said the corporation had been making major investments at Tarong and Meandu, including $26 million on the Black Creek diversion; $45 million on Unit 2, Unit 3 and Tarong North; $36 million on heavy trucks at the mine; and $13 million on the Atlas excavator.<\/p>\n

“We have made some very tough decisions which have been very hard, but we want Tarong to be here for another 20 years,” Mr Van Breda said.<\/p>\n

He said there had been “celebrations” at Stanwell when the Carbon Tax was axed.<\/p>\n

“The return to us will be about $50 million a year,” he said.<\/p>\n